DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS 20 FEBRUARY
INTERNATIONAL
Trade deal with U.S. delayed, not stuck, says government
Trump Statement:
- USA is going to have big trade deal with India but is not sure of the timing of deal.
- USA complained about treatment given to it by India but hailed that a big trade deal will happen between the two countries.
Government argument:
- Trade deal is delayed but not stuck.
- The visit is not about signing a trade deal rather showcasing India’s strength of Unity in Diversity.
- Government whole aim is to make the visit successful and grand as expected by Trump.
- During the road show in Ahmedabad, different states will perform their specialty and ordinary people will also be present there.
- Trump visit would see the announcement of several defence purchases as well as a “joint vision statement for the Indo-Pacific.
POLITY
PM Modi makes surprise visit to 'Hunar Haat' at Rajpath; relishes 'litti-chokha'
About Hunar Haat:
- It is being organized by ministry of minority affairs.
- It has become a “Mega Mission” of indigenous Craft, Cuisine & Culture and economic empowerment of master artisans, craftsmen.
- The success of “Hunar Haat” can be gauged from the fact that about 3 lakh needy master artisans, craftsmen & culinary experts have been provided employment and employment opportunities through “Hunar Haat” in the last about 3 years.
- It is not only providing employment opportunities to master artisans and craftsmen, it is also preserving and promoting India’s indigenous traditional legacy of master artisans and craftsmen which was on the verge of extinction.
- Training is being provided to master artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts according to modern needs in these “Hunar Hubs”
- They are also being provided national-international markets.
SC directs Rajasthan government, its collectors and SPs to stop illegal sand mining in state
Court Order:
- It took strong note of rampant illegal sand mining in Rajasthan and directed the state government, its collectors and SPs to take immediate steps to stop it.
- Illegal sand mining is likely to “damage the environment irreparably”.
- It also directed the apex court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to look into the issue of illegal sand mining and submit a report suggesting measures to deal with it.
- The CEC will submit its report within six weeks.
Impact of Sand Mining:
- Depletion of sand in the river bed causes the deepening of rivers and estuaries, and the enlargement of river mouths, which leads to saline water intrusion.
- The excess extraction of sand affects the normal course of the river. Any variation in the course of the river will either lead to river erosion in a few areas or will lead to flooding during monsoon.
- Due to rampant sand mining and ecological imbalance, fishing activity has declined in the Manguluru and fishermen are forced to take up alternative jobs outside their village.
- Trees that come under the buffer zone are felled to facilitate the movement of vehicles to collect sand from the riverside.
- Sand mining during the monsoons affects the fish species as they lay eggs in the shores. Crabs, fishes has declined drastically at the coast of Karnataka.
- Recently, Moolarapattana Bridge in Bantwal had collapsed due to illegal sand mining.
Steps to tackle Sand Mining:
- Sand is a minor mineral. Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act) empowers state governments to make rules for regulating the grant of mineral concessions in respect of minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith.
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016.
- Grant of Environment Clearance for minor minerals, including sand and gravel, for mining lease of area up to 5 hectare will be done by the District Environment Impact Assessment Authority headed by the District Collector / District Magistrate.
- Several states have formed their own rules to regulate sand mining.
Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-illegal-sand-mining-rajasthan-6275645/
Centre to form new law panel
The Union Cabinet gave its approval to set up the 22nd Law Commission.
Role of Law Commission:
- It advises the government on complex legal issues.
- It undertakes research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms and enacting new legislation.
- It shall also undertake studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, and reduction in cost of litigation.
Composition of Law Commission:
- It will have a three-year term.
- The commission will have four full-time members, along with a full time chairperson.
- Law and Legislative Secretaries in the Law Ministry will be the ex-officio members of the commission.
- It will also have not more than five part-time members.
- A retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court will head the Commission.
- It was originally formed in 1955.
- The commission is reconstituted every three years and so far.
- 277 reports have been submitted to the government.
- Law commission doesn’t have a statutory status.
Recommendations of previous law commission:
- It supported simultaneous law.
- It argued that time is not ripe for uniform civil code.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/centre-to-form-new-law-panel/article30865767.ece
SOCIETY
STF set up to study minimum age of girls entering motherhood: Centre
The Centre has informed the Delhi High Court that a Special Task Force has been formed to study the issue of minimum age of girls entering motherhood.
Petitioner’s argument:
- It sought equality in legal age of marriage for men and women.
- The difference in minimum age of marriage for men and women was based on patriarchal stereotypes and has no scientific backing.
- Limit of 18 years for a woman to get married amounts to “blatant discrimination” when men in India are permitted to wed at the age of 21.
Government’s argument:
- More than 125 countries in the world have a uniform age of marriage for men and women.
- The National Human Rights Commission, pursuant to the National Conference on Child Marriage held in New Delhi in August 2018, recommended that India follow suit and bring uniformity in the minimum age limits.
- To protect women’s fundamental rights, it is imperative that the minimum age of marriage be equalized and fixed at 21 years.
- Finance minister in her budget speech had said that it will help in lowering the maternal mortality rates (MMR) and improving the nutritional levels in women.
- The issue needs to be analyzed from the angle of motherhood.
Second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission gets nod
Second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission:
- Focus on liquid and solid waste management.
- Maintaining the sustainability of open defecation.
- The scheme will be implemented by the States, with a fund sharing pattern of 60:40 between the Centre and the States.
- Phase II would continue the provision of a ₹12,000 per household incentive for households which still do not have toilets.
Financing:
- Funding norms for Solid and Liquid Waste Management have been rationalised and changed to per capita basis in place of number of households.
- Financial assistance to gram panchayats for construction of community managed sanitary complexes had been increased to ₹3 lakh per complex, from ₹2 lakh.
- Approved an allocation of ₹52,497 crore for the scheme from the budget of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation over the next four years.
- The remaining outlay of ₹88,384 crore until 2024-25 will come via a convergence model, depending on funds released under the 15th Finance Commission and money allocated to the rural jobs guarantee scheme.
Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill proposes national registry of clinics
The Union Cabinet approved the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, 2020.
Objectives:
- Monitor medical procedures used to assist people to achieve pregnancy.
Provisions of the bill:
- It provides for a national Board which will lay down a code of conduct to be observed by those operating clinics.
- It will also formulate minimum standards for laboratory and diagnostic equipment and practices to be followed by human resources employed by clinics and banks.
- The States and Union Territories will also have to form State Boards and State authorities within three months of the notification of the proposed legislation.
- A national registry and registration authority will maintain a database to assist the national Board to perform its functions.
- Proposes stringent punishment for those who practise sex selection, indulge in sale of human embryos or gametes and those who operate rackets.
- The Bill will also ensure confidentiality of intending couples and protect the rights of the child.
Need for the bill:
- India has one of the highest growths in the number ART centres and ART cycles performed every year.
- India has become one of the major centres of this global fertility industry, with reproductive medical tourism becoming a significant activity.
- This has also introduced a plethora of legal, ethical and social issues.
- There is no standardisation of protocols and reporting is still very inadequate.
ECONOMY
Central govt. cuts its share in flagship crop insurance scheme
Changes in the Fasal Bima Yojana:
- The Centre has almost halved its contribution to its own flagship crop insurance schemes.
- It has slashed its share of the premium subsidy from the current 50% to just 25% in irrigated areas and 30% for unirrigated areas from the kharif season of 2020.
- Enrolment in the two schemes has also been made voluntary for all farmers, including those with existing crop loans.
Need for the Changes:
- Farmers groups and opposition politicians have claimed that private insurance companies have made windfall gains on the scheme.
- Several major insurers, including ICICI Lombard and Tata AIG, have opted out of the scheme in 2019-20, reportedly due to losses because of high claims ratios.
- Several States, including Punjab and West Bengal, have refused to participate in the scheme as well.
About Fasal Bima Yojana:
- It is the centre sponsored crop insurance scheme that integrates multiple stakeholders on a single platform.
- Objectives
- To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
- To stabilize the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
- To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
- To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.
- Key features:
- There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%. Balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide full-insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.
- Smart phones will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers. Remote sensing will be used to reduce the number of crop cutting experiments.
- It is a replacement scheme of National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as the Modified NAIS.
- Eligibility: All farmers growing notified crops in a notified area during the season who have insurable interest in the crop are eligible.
- Compulsory coverage: The enrolment under the scheme shall be compulsory for following categories of farmers:
- Farmers in the notified area who possess a Crop Loan account/KCC account (called as Loanee Farmers) to whom credit limit is sanctioned/renewed for the notified crop during the crop season and other farmers whom the Government may decide to include from time to time.
Voluntary coverage: Voluntary coverage may be obtained by all farmers not covered above, including Crop KCC/Crop Loan Account holders whose credit limit is not renewed.
Comparison with previous scheme
|
Sl.No |
Feature |
NAIS [1999] |
MNAIS [2010] |
PM Crop Insurance Scheme |
|
1 |
Premium rate |
Low |
High |
Lower than even NAIS (Govt. to contribute 5 times that of farmer) |
|
2 |
One Season – One Premium |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
3 |
Insurance Amount cover |
Full |
Capped |
Full |
|
4 |
On Account Payment |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
5 |
Localized Risk coverage |
No |
Hail storm, Land slide |
Hail storm, Land slide, Inundation |
|
6 |
Post Harvest Losses coverage |
No |
Coastal areas - for cyclonic rain |
All India – for cyclonic + unseasonal rain |
|
7 |
Prevented Sowing coverage |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
8 |
Use of Technology (for quicker settlement of claims) |
No |
Intended |
Mandatory |
|
9 |
Awareness |
No |
No |
Yes (target to double coverage to 50 |
TECHNOLOGY
Union Cabinet gives nod for empowered technology group to fix tech woes
The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of an empowered technology group to help address issues such as “sub-optimal industrial development”.
Role of the empowered group:
- Optimal utilization of the dual use technology.
- develop in-house expertise in aspects of policy and use of emerging technologies
- Ensure sustainability of technology being developed at public sector organisations.
- ensure that India had an updated map of technology and technology products available and being developed;
- develop an “indigenisation road map” for selected key technologies;
- encourage Union Ministries and departments and State governments to develop in-house expertise in policy;
- Use aspects of emerging technologies.
- Facilitate cross-sector collaborations and research alliances with universities and private companies
- Formulate “standards and a common vocabulary” to screen proposals for research and development.
Need of the group:
- Ministeries procure technology but are not aware of it being the latest one.
- Group will give advice to all ministries, agencies and PSUs.
Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), which includes industrialists, scientists and technocrats and is tasked with recommending policy action on science and technology as well as coordinating between different Ministries.
About Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC):
- The PM-STIAC is an overarching Council that facilitates the PSA’s Office to assess the status in specific science and technology domains, comprehend challenges in hand, formulate specific interventions, develop a futuristic roadmap and advise the Prime Minister accordingly.
- PSA’s Office also oversees the implementation of such interventions by concerned S&T Departments and Agencies and other government Ministries.
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